The American opera houses didn't know it yet, but amidst the backdrop of postwar Germany, one of its most passionate advocates and educators was about to begin her journey into the realm of their epic institution. Like every remarkable journey, the road to Oz was fraught with danger, but also miracles, along the way.

In America we change broken and stupid laws - that is how women got the vote and Jim Crow segregation was ended. We will have immigration enforcement that works only when we create legal avenues for workers to come to the U.S. to do the many entry-level jobs our economy has created and only when we legalize the 12 million undocumented workers who are already contributing to our nation with their sweat.